The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-04-20


was witnessed by Mr.. Harrington and Michael
Donovan Mr.. Harrington had no objection %
Leydham's escape, but was dumfouaded at
the hellish deed Donovan's loss of voice
made him poweriess 10 give an alarm. Who're
! Leydham went 10 has never been discovered
he Is vet free
snow Mr. Put1am, there are alleged hor-
rible crimes committed by Southern soldiers
i ask you as sold err 10 soldier TO search the
annals of our army, our prisons aud see If
the records have chronicled, or hearsay re-
ports, a more hellish decd than this committed
by one OF your New England Puritans i
pause for reply
@Allow me to inadequaiely thank you for the
kindness you did me In my troubles. l shall
never forget, l can never repay. Gol bless
sEUGRNE SINCLAIR"
"Merciful God what fend! Yes,
Tom, Sinclair is right
Hush, Walt; listenl Again Grant showed
us to the left, and when we arrived mt our
battle-ground, behold Mr.. Lee had his men
intrenched behind earthworks, and they
welcomed us, as usual, in the old way, with
rattle OF musketry and roar of cannon. In
one hours time there ensued one of the
tiercest and bloodiest engagements OF the
campaign. Charge after charge was made
to dislodge Mr.. Reb. but he fought and
hung on with unreasonable and unheurd- of
tenacity. Their voAeys were deadly: they
pelted us as tiercely and rapidly as musket
and cannon could possibly be loaded and
discharged by brave, experienced soldiers.
All! what day!
%The fern on tho hillside was splashed with
blood,
And down in the corn. where tho poppies
Were redder stains than the poppies knew;
And crimson-dyed was the river nOod.
again we were formed i'll line for
charge. We were in line and dressed TO
the right. The Colonel walked slowly
down the front of his small brigade, and
with compressed lips pointed to the enemy,
and said: Boys, can't we do it this time?
Don't let it be said that Nermonters ever
failed! His few words thrilled us.
, looked into the sun Drowned faces of my
comrades, and OH how my heart ached
for them. What glorious heroes they were,
and now to be sacrificed, just for tie sake
of stubborn determination to possess a val
ueless earthworkl Forward double quick!
came the command, and we rushed forward
with cheers and yells. Like the fury of
hell the canrons roared and canister tore
through our ranks. We Were covered
with the blood of our comrades. Great
gaps were torn through our ranks. but we
reached the earthworks. Again the Colonel
urged us onward, ard we drove the enemy
back to his artillery. Here they were re-
enforced and drove us back TO the rifle pits,
where We resolved to do or die Once
more we swept the field, to be once more
beaten back in an exhausted condition, and
at the rifle pits, still in our position, We
rested, and then, with a deep breath and
resolute in determination TO conquer, we
went forward right into the fire and flame
of muskets and cannon. With redoubled
efforts we succeeded III driving the Confed-
crates from their position, and VIII was the
first to plant the old Pine Tree flag upon
the first line of works. With victorious
cheers we pressed on, aud at the second
line we met u stubborn resistance. The
conflict became hand to hand. Muskets
were dubbed, stones and broken gun
stocks were thrown. and We swayed back
and forward. Twice had Will saved my
life. and now he was cheering us on right
into the heart of the enemy. AS he stood
upon the last line of works cheering us for
ward, man sprang up from behind n
caisson and stabbed him twice in tho back.
/, as well as others, recognized the man in
spite of his disguise as the cursed tiend,
Leydham. Half n dozen of us tried TO
shoot him. 1 shot once, but in the press of
re endorsements we were pushed forward
and separated from that part of the field.
well, why repeat the scenes of that
fierce and bloody battle? We won the day,
but, ali, how dearly In half an hour | was
back to the place where / saw VIII last.
In searching for him | found nv
old captive, Captain Sinclair, and
asked him # he bad seen Will and
Leydham. He feebly answered, 'Yes
your shot saved Harrington and broke
Leydhams shoulder. They are down i'll
the timber. l stayed with Sinclair till he
died. then started for the timber, about
IL 49, u. .,S,kA L.,
there my route passed large tobacco barn.
On reaching it had to pass around it, and
in turning the corners l abruptly came face
to face with Lawrence Leydham---"
"And you killed the deyilt"
Hold on, Walt. No, did not touch
him."
WHAT"
"Hold on. Keep your shirt on, and
list n. One end of the prolong rope of
gun carriage was thrown over the limb of
a chestnut tree; the other end was passed
through the lunette ring and around the
elevating screw, and then wound around
the body of man who lay beside the gun
wheels. his hands clutching with n death
grip the rope, his lips slightly open with
triumphant, exultant smile, and his fast
death glazing eyes fixed upon the black,
distorted face of man who, with feet just
escaping the ground, dangled NJ the end of
the prolong rope thrown over the limb.
Both men were dead.
THE one at the end of the rope was
Lawrence Leydham.
"The one who had hung him, and wound
the rope around his own body to doubly
prevent any failure of the death of Leyd-
ham or his falling before death ensued,
was our poor Willie. How he managed to
do this, wounded badly and weak as he
xvo / ON 1nohla N nxrlait1 Int n
done, and surely done. lie had conquered
the fiend and hung him, and Ethel was
avenged"
For long time / sat silent. Many,
many things passed through my mind like
half forgotten dreams. l walked over TO
Tom, grasped his hand, and exclaimed:
81, too, loved her, Tom. but Thank
God! thank Godl You have not acknowl-
edged all. You helped more than you
have told. Thank God, old man! And
God bless you always"